The rest of my life
by HeroesLover77
Summary: Set after NT 1. Riley hasn't been acting like himself lately, and when they discover the reason, it will change the lives of the three treasure hunters forever. Summary sucks, but LIVE WITH IT! LOL jkjk. No slash, just good old fashioned bromance.
1. Chapter 1

Summary - Set after NT-1. Riley hasn't been acting like himself. When they discover the source of the problem, it changes the lives of all three treasure hunters forever. Summary sucks, but LIVE WITH IT. lol, jkjk. :) No Slash, just good old fashioned bromance. Enjoy :)

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN NATIONAL TREASURE OR ANYONE/THING ASSOCIATED. *sob*

**PART I - **

**Chapter One -**

Ben glanced at the clock, impatiently.

"Try his cell, Ben. We have reservations for seven o'clock." Abi informed him.

"I know." Ben replied. "But it's Riley. He's not exactly known for his punctuality."

Nonetheless, he reached for the cordless phone, and dialed Riley's cell. He was beginning to get tired of waiting for Riley to show up himself, mostly due to the fact that his hunger pains were increasingly prominent.

The other line rang a few times, before a muffled, groggy voice was heard.

"Hello?" Riley mumbled, apparently holding the phone at some distance.

"Ri, its Ben. Are you on your way?"

Riley grabbed his cell, which was resting on the other side of his pillow.

"What? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm in the car right now."

Riley frantically jumped out of bed. In his haste, he accidently knocked his lamp off his bedside table, causing the lightbulb to smash upon contact with the floor.

He swore, but didn't bother to clean it up. Instead, he rushed to grab his car keys and wallet from the kitchen counter.

"What was that?" Ben inquired.

"Uh- just my lamp. I knocked it over."

Ben frowned. "Why do you have a lamp in your car?" He asked.

Riley mentally kicked himself. "I'm..." He tried to make something up on the spot, but he was still tired. After all, he had just woken up two seconds ago.

"You're still at your apartment, aren't you?" Ben concluded.

Abigail gave an annoyed groan at overhearing this news.

"Yeah...look, sorry man. I fell asleep. But I'm leaving right now! And I swear, I'll drive, like, way over the speed limit!" Ben sighed.

"Get over here quickly, just don't get yourself killed." He told the younger man.

"Right. I'll be there in ten." Riley said, and he ended the call, jumping into his red ferrari.

Ben turned to his girlfriend.

"He says he'll be here soon." He informed her.

Abi shook her head. "What was he doing when you called?" She asked.

"Sleeping." Ben replied.

Abi raised her eyebrows, genuinely surprised. "Riley? Sleeping?" Ben laughed a bit.

"My sentiments exactly."

"Riley doesn't need to sleep. He spends hours upon hours each night sitting at his computer, with his red bull, and he's perfectly fine the next day." Abi said.

"I'm sure it's nothing. It's probably all just catching up to him." Ben stated.

Though he wasn't entirely sure, he didn't allow the matter to bother him.

Riley was human, after all.

And humans need sleep.

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Riley arrived after about ten mintues, as he had promised.

Seeing as he lived about a twenty minute drive from their house, Ben didn't even wanted to know how fast Riley had to drive to get there.

"Sorry, guys. I must be coming down with something. I've been sleeping alot lately." Riley said, as his friends got in the car.

Riley was their temporary chauffer while Ben and Abi's car was in the shop. This wasn't the first time since he assumed the roll that Ben and Abi were late for an event.

"It's okay, Riley." Abi assured him, and the issue was quickly forgotten.

Half and hour later, the trio were seated a fancy table, one next to the window, where Riley wanted to make sure he would be able to see his baby out in the parking lot.

That way, if the vallet got any bright ideas and decided to take off in her, he could easily pursue. Ben and Abi thought he was being ridiculous. But Riley knew he was just being careful.

Better safe than sorry, as he liked to say.

Well... when it came to his car, anyways.

"What are you two going to get?" Abi asked, scanning the menu in front of her.

Riley was staring down at his menu, and when he didn't answer, Abi called his name.

"Oh." He said, looking up, somewhat startled at the mention of his name.

"You know, I'm not really that hungry. Maybe I'll just get something to drink." He looked back down at the menu.

Ben and Abi looked at one another across the table. Riley was NEVER not hungry. This was definitely odd behaviour for him.

The waiter came around and asked if they were ready to order. Abi and Ben ordered what they wanted, and Riley just said he wanted a milkshake.

"We don't have milkshakes here, sir." The waiter said, as if Riley had asked for something udderly ridiculous.

"Oh." Riley said, with the same lack of enthusiasum and energy he'd been showing since he picked his friends up from their mansion.

"Then, just water please." He handed his menu to the waiter, who nodded, and went away. This was more than Ben could take.

"Riley, what's going on? Last time we were in a place that didn't serve milkshakes, you became outraged and demanded we go somewhere more respectable." Ben said.

Riley shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm just not feeling too good. But whatever it is, I'll be better in a couple days."

Ben shot Abi a glance. She was frowning. Riley sat there for a few moments, staring at his lap before exscusing himself to the washroom.

This was the couples' chance to exchange suspisions.

"Maybe he's in love." Abi suggested. "Love makes people act all sorts of ways."

"I don't think so." Ben objected. "He seems miserable. Being in love doesn't usually make people miserable." He frowned as a new thought entered his head.

"What if he's using?"

"Drugs? Ben, I really don't think that's it." Abi scoffed.

"Well, its a possibility, isn't it? Suddenly becoming rich and famous has had a huge impact on the kid, as it would on anyone. Granted, I wouldn't have suspected it, if it weren't for the fact that we have been seeing less and less of him recently, and he has been getting even skinnier than he was before. And Riley's always been skinny, but lately..."

"It's my metabolism." Riley said defensively, walking up from behind them. "I can't help it." à

Ben cleared his throat, wondering just how much his friend had heard of their conversation.

Abi and Ben looked at one another, feeling a bit guilty. Riley sat back down, puzzled by their expressions.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." His friends replied quickly. Maybe a bit too quickly.

At least this showed he probably hadn't heard what Ben said. Riley frowned at them, then craned his neck to see if their waiter was coming back yet.

"Where is that guy? I want my water." Riley complained.

"I'm sure he'll be around soon." Abi smiled.

She glanced back at Ben, who was busy trying to figure out what else could be going wrong with the usually cheerful Riley they knew at loved.

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A/N: So that's chapter one. Chapter two is already finished, it will be up shortly. Please review! Thanks :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two -

The meal went well, with Riley staying more on the quiet side than usual, but still making the odd sarcastic comment or lame wise crack.

These made Ben and Abi feel a bit more reassured. However, by the end of the evening, Riley seemed extremely tired. His head was hanging and his speech was a little slurred.

"It's getting pretty late." Ben commented, really noticing how his friend was acting when he put his head down on the table.

"Just as soon as we get the bill, we can be on our way." He held up his hand to flag down the waiter.

Once the bill was dealt with, the three of them got up and headed out to the parking lot.

The vallet, a young man, drove around Riley's car.

"That's a really nice ride, sir." He said.

Riley offered a weak smile and an even weaker

"Thanks."

He was about to get in the driver's seat, when Ben stopped him, holding the door shut.

"Why don't I drive? You can spend the night at our house. You seem pretty tired."

"I'm fine, Ben. You don't hafta - "

But Ben didn't want to hear it. He stared him down, until Riley gave in, and jumped into the back seat.

Within five minutes on the road, Riley was sleeping soundly in the back, his seatbelt cradling his head.

Ben looked back at him through the rear view mirror.

"I'm actually pretty worried about him." He told Abi, in a soft voice, careful not to wake his friend.

"I think it's a good idea that he'll be spending the night with us. We can keep a close eye on him this way." She agreed.

They finished the drive in silence. When they got back to their estate, Ben reached over the seat and shook Riley's knee.

He stirred a bit, then asked. "Where are we?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Back at my place." Ben told him, opening the car door allowing a gust of cool wind to enter the back, which helped Riley wake up a little.

He managed to haul himself out of the back seat, and drag himself into his friends' house.

He didn't even notice the fact that both Abi and Ben were scrutinizing his every move, up until he disappeared into his dark room.

Riley collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes or jacket, or to brush his teeth.

He was honestly exausted. He had _never_ felt so tired in all his life. He was out like a light the second his head hit the pillow.

Ben, on the other hand, didn't have such an easy time falling asleep. Riley was his best friend. If something was bothing Riley, then something was bothering Ben.

He lay awake for a little while, staring up at the dark ceiling over head.

He wanted to go check on Riley, to make sure he was okay. But, it was almost 1 am now. And he didn't want to wake him.

So instead, Ben settled for going downstairs into the living room, and watching the history channel.

He fell asleep in the middle of some programme about World war II, at around three in the morning, and was awakened by the sound of clattering in the kitchen.

Ben walked into the kitchen to see Abigail serving waffles to a very much awake Riley. Pretty much the opposite of how he had been acting for the past couple weeks, Riley looked alert and healthy, and was wolfing down his breakfast.

"Good morning." Ben said, walking over to give his wife a kiss.

"Good morning." She said. She motioned towards Riley, who's reply of 'good morning' was lost in a mouth full of waffles.

"I found him eating a tub of ice cream when I woke up this morning. So I insisted he let me make him some real breakfast." She handed her husband a plate.

"And of course, I made some extras for us." Ben grinned and sat down across from Riley at the table.

"You feeling better today, Ri?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow at his apparently back-to-normal best friend.

"Yeah. I feel fine." He answered. "I guess I just had a bug or something."

Ben nodded, still surprised at the fact that his condition had changed so drastically over night.

After they were done eating, Riley announced that he would be heading off shortly. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay just one more night?" Abi offered.

"Yeah. You seemed pretty sick yesterday..." Ben agreed.

"Guys, its cool. I'm fine." Riley told them, in a tone which suggested that he truely felt better, and was tired of their pestering him.

"I have some stuff to take care of at home. But I'll come by some time tomorrow, 'kay? Just so you guys don't drive yourselves crazy worrying about me." Riley smirked, and shook his head slightly at what he thought was just his friends being over-protective.

After Riley left, Ben and Abi spent a couple hours taking care of things around the house. Nothing really important, which was probably a good thing, considering the fact that Ben was unable to focus all day.

Ben was rearranging their dvds when Abi asked him about it. He didn't really know why, but he just felt uneasy about Riley.

"It's not that I don't believe him, it's just that... people don't usually fully recover from being so sick for weeks, overnight. You know?" Ben asked.

Abi nodded. She joined her boyfriend on the couch.

"Why don't you ring him later tonight? Just to check up on him, make sure he's still feeling alright." She suggested.

"He needs his space, after all. He is a grown man."

Ben chuckled slightly. "Yeah. I forget that sometimes."

Abi smiled. "He doesn't exactly help his case when you find him eating a whole thing of icecream at 9 in the morning."

The couple shared a few more funny memories about him.

Ben knew he was going into overprotective, big brother mode, as he often did, so he decided to take Abi's advise, and just talk to Riley over the phone later that evening.

So after dinner, around 7 o'clock, Ben grabbed the phone. He dialed Riley's home phone.. and with every ring, grew more and more anxious. He didn't really know why.

Finally, he heard a click, and Riley answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, buddy. It's Ben. Just calling to see how you're doing." Ben said, cheerfully, careful not to seem too concerned.

There was a pause.

"What?" Riley asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Ben frowned. "I'm just calling to see how you are doing. Are you still feeling okay?" He said, speaking a little louder.

"Uhh... I... I dunno..." Riley seemed really confused.

"Riley what's going on? You don't sound too good." Ben asked, firmly.

"Ben?" Riley asked.

Ben gripped the phone anxiously. "Yeah it's me. Ri, are you okay?." Riley mumbled a few words, which Ben didn't understand.

"I'm coming over! Stay on the line with Abi until I get there, okay?" Ben said, frantically.

"Yeah.." Riley answered, softly.

Ben handed the phone his his girlfriend, and grabbed his keys.

"What's going on?" Abi asked, bewildered. "Something's seriously wrong with Riley. Stay on the phone with him until I get there."

With that, he rushed out to his car, and sped onto the highway.

Not five minutes after getting in the car, Ben's cell rang. It was Abi.

"Ben," She said, her voice shakey. "Riley won't respond. I - I tried to keep him talking, but he wasn't making any sense. I think he's passed out now! Hurry!"

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A/N: Gasp! What will happen? Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three **_**-**_

Ben pulled his car up to the curb, not caring that he had stopped in a no parking zone, and used his own key to get inside the appartment building.

The elevator seemed to take forever to reach the lobby, yet Ben doubted it would be faster to take the stairs.

Eventaully Ben got himself to the 7th floor, and didn't bother knocking before barging into Riley's apartment.

"Riley!" He yelled. He glanced breifly in every room before finding Riley in his bathroom, slouched against the sink.

Ben gasped at the sight of his young friend, and rushed to his aid.

"Oh, God." He said, kneeling next to him. The phone was still resting in Riley's limp hands. Ben grabbed it and called 911.

After he was sure an ambulance was on its way, he turned his attention back to Riley.

He was as good as unconscious, with the only difference being that he was shivering and short murmers were escaping his lips.

"What are you trying to say, Riley?" Ben asked, patting his cheek gentley to see if he might wake up a bit. But Riley didn't even flinch. He seemed completely out of it, like a zombie.

"Come on, stay with me." Ben urged, though there wasn't much use, as he had obviously been like this since Ben called him earlier.

Ben sat next to Riley, with his arm around his shoulder, feeling completely useless.

All he could do was wait for the ambulance to come. After all, he had absolutely no idea what was going on, and even less of an idea as to what he could do to help.

It felt like an hour before the paramedics arrived, though he had really only been about ten minutes.

The second Ben heard them at the door, he leapt up and signalled them over to the bathroom. Ben tried to stay out of their way by waiting just outside, in Riley's bedroom.

The three paramedics said a bunch of medical stuff that Ben didn't really understand. He had taken basic first aid, but didn't know much more than that in the way of medicine.

They strapped Riley onto a stretcher, and rushed him back down to the bottem level, and out to their emergency vehicle parked right infront of Ben's car.

"Sir, I think it's best if you followed us to the hospital in your own car." The driver said as Ben watched them close the ambulance doors.

As much as Ben wanted to be with Riley, he'd been in the back of an ambulance before, and knew them to be small and akwardly spaced. One less body back there would help the doctors do a better job helping Riley.

So, Ben revved his engine and followed closely behind the speeding vehicle, thankful that the flashing lights and sirens meant traffic would be subsided for them.

As Ben parked the car, he dialed Abi and told her to meet him in the ER.

He wasn't able to give her any details because, well, he didn't know anything yet. Then, he hurried into the hospital.

Despite his best efforts, he didn't reach the ER in time to see Riley before the took him in for treatment. Instead, he collapsed on a chair in the waiting room, exausted, emotionally and physically.

Abi got the the hospital about twenty minutes later. Ben was very glad to see her, and they stood hugging for a long time, before ordering coffee and sitting there in silence, waiting for news about Riley's condition.

Eventually, a man dressed in green scrubs appeared in the doorway.

"Riley Poole's family?" He asked.

Ben and Abi jumped up so quickly, some of their coffee splashed out of the cup, and onto the floor.

"That's us." Abi said.

"Follow me, please." The doctor said, turning back toward the corridoor.

Ben and Abi looked at each other, unable to tell what was going to happen next.

They followed him down the corridoor and into a room at the end of the hall, where Riley lay before them, on the bed. He was hooked up to an IV, and still looked pretty sleepy, but he was awake.

"God, Riley." Ben said, as he walked over to his friend.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, gripping his shoulder.

"I can't complain." Riley shrugged. It was good to hear him complete a coherent sentence after barely being able to utter two actual words back at the apartment.

Abi stepped infront of Ben and wrapped her arms around Riley.

"I'm so glad you're alright." She said, starting to get kind of choked up. Riley smiled at her.

"Yeah, but are you alright?" He asked.

She dabbed her eyes and smiled back at him, nodding. Riley motioned for Ben to come in closer.

"Listen man, I really hate hospitals. When can I get out of here?" He whispered.

Ben smirked.

"I dunno, Ri. It's the doctors' call. I think this is him coming though."

A man stopped outside the room, checked his clipboard, and then walked in.

"Mister... Poole, isn't it?"

"That's him." Ben answered.

"I'm Dr. Warren. We've just gotten some test restults back."

The three treasure hunters were anxious to see what they showed.

"The reason you were found passed out in your apartment... was because your blood sugar level was 1.1." Riley looked at him, confused.

"Is that... bad?" He asked.

"It's very low." The doctor replied. "Normally it should be between 6 and 8."

"Well... what made it go so low?" Ben wanted to know.

"It could be due to skipping meals or excessive excersice, or something along those lines." Dr Warren answered.

"Okay well, the last time I ate was 9 o'clock this morning, and I went for a run this afternoon to clear my head because I started feeling sick around noon." Riley explained.

"Okay well, I guess that explains that." Ben said.

"But how come when Abi or I miss a meal, or go to the gym, this sort of thing doesn't happen to us?" The Doctor looked sympathetic.

"Exactly. This type of reaction is really only seen in diabetics. And in Riley's case, the test results show that he is suffering from Type 1 diabetes."

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A/N: So, please review, once again. Tell me what you think of the chapter. What do you think of the diagnosis?

I apologize to any American readers who may know something about diabetes. I'm from Canada, and we read blood sugars much differently from you guys.

:)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four -

The three friends stared at him in shock.

"Wh-what?" Riley stuttered.

"Isn't that usually only seen in children?" Ben asked, not meaning in any way to insult his friend.

"No, actually. It's called juvenille, because it is pretty much only seen in people under 40. It's mostly diagnosed in the mid-teenage years, but all things considered, Riley isn't too much past the peak age for diagnosis."

"I can't believe this." Ben muttered.

"Wait, wait, wait." Riley said, in a tone of obvious disbelief as well. "I knew a kid who had this when I was growing up! She had to get shots all the time, and couldn't drink juice and stuff. Are you saying... that I'm..."

Riley didn't know what to say. It was really starting to sink in.

"Are you sure about this?" Abi asked, making the feeling of disbelief a unanimous one.

The doctor nodded.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Riley will be admitted overnight, and tomorrow, he'll be able to speak with a dietician, and endocrinologist, and a diabetes nurse. You'll learn everything you need to know about handling the disease from them."

With that, he turned and left the small family in shocked silence.

"I can't believe it." Riley said slowly, leaning back against his pillow.

Abigail squeezed his hand supportively. "We'll get through this, Riley. Don't worry." But Riley was worried. Very worried.

That night, after Ben and Abi went home, promising to return the next day, Riley took out his laptop. Once Riley was feeling much better, he had managed to convince Abi to drive back and get it from his apartment. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to last the whole night without it.

Now, he opened up the internet and typed 'Type 1 diabetes' into google. 16 500 000 results. He sighed, and clicked the first link.

He vowed he was going to learn everything he could about this disease.

Little did he know, back at the mansion, Ben was doing the exact same thing on his home computer.

There was so much to know! Hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, glucometres, insulin... most of these terms Riley had never even heard of before.

He was half way through reading the ninth or tenth link, when he eventaully fell asleep.

He was awoken the next morning at the sound of a nurse coming in with a tall cart of breakfast trays. Sun was streaming through the blinds.

Riley stretched, feeling considerably better than before after a good nights sleep.

"Thank you." Riley said, as the nurse placed the tray next to him. It was on one of those tables where you can make it extend so it reached infront of you, and you can eat while you're still lying in bed.

Riley made a mental note to buy one for his room when he got home.

He picked up the paper that was taped to the lid of the tray and read it over. At the top was his name, and beside the word diet was circled 'Diabetic'. He shook his head. It was weird to see it on paper.

The breakfast was surprisingly good, but a bit small for Riley's liking.

His friends arrived just as he was finishing up eating.

"How are you feeling today?" Ben asked.

"Fine." Riley replied, and it was the truth. He felt completely normal.

A few minutes later, a tall blonde woman in a doctors coat appeared in the doorway.

"Hi, Riley. I'm Dr. Harley. I'm your endocrinologist."

Riley gulped, and started blushing furiously.

"Hi." He replied, somewhat lamely. He looked at the clock.

"Isn't my oppointment at, like, 1?" He asked.

"Yes. I was just down here getting ready for my shift, so I thought I'd drop by and introduce myself. How are you feeling this morning?"

Riley fidgeted nervously. "Good." He replied.

She smiled at him. "That's good to hear. Well, I'll see you later on." After she left, Riley turned to Ben.

"She was hot." He stated, matter-of-factly. Ben grinned and ruffled his friend's already messy hair. Riley swatted his hand away playfully.

Later that day, the three of them sat up in Dr. Harley's office. She had just finished explaining what diabetes was.

"So, it isn't my fault that I have it?" Riley confirmed.

"Nope. That's a common misconception with type 1 diabetes. People think someone can get it by eating too much sugar but that is only true in the case of _some_ type 2 diabetics. People with type 1 are NOT responsible in ANY WAY for their disease."

This made Riley feel better. He did eat a lot of candy, and if that was what had made him sick, it would be pretty ironic.

"Unfourtunately, Type 1 diabetes doesn't go away the way type 2 can. It is a life long disease." The doctor said.

From the internet research done the night before, Riley already knew this, as did Ben.

After talking with Dr. Harley a bit longer, they met with a dietician who gave them a meal chart designed with Riley's age and weight in mind.

It told him how much of what kind of food he should eat at every meal and snack.

Riley didn't exactly like the idea of having certain times of day set aside for snacking. According to him, that defeated the purpose of snacking, which was to settle random hunger during random times of day.

Finally, the worst part. The nurse presented Riley with a few things. One, a glucometre, which looked a bit like one of those tamagatichi electronic toys. Only instead of being an electronic pet, this would measure his blood sugar levels.

Also, he was given a finger poker, which he would use five or six times a day, to get blood for measuring.

Then, last but not least, he was shown how to inject himself with insulin, something that he would have to do three times a day, for the rest of his life.

He could insert the needle in his leg, stomach, upper arm or shoulder. She showed him how to measure and mix the insulin (Novolin and Novorapid), and the how to inject it.

Riley had always hated needles, and now he would have to deal with them up to ten times a day, between injections and testing.

His whole life seemed to be falling apart.

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So what did you think? Please Review! :)

A/N: BTW, This entire story is dedicated to my 13 yr old sister, Jessica, who was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Stay strong, Jessie!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five -**

_Three days later -_

"Riley, dinner!" Abi called. Riley appeared in the dining room doorway. He was hungry, and thankful it was at last time to eat.

He sat down and grabbed his fork, ready to dig into his specially measured meal, when Abi stopped him.

"Did you remember to do your insulin?" She asked. Riley's face fell at the thought of not being able to eat right away. Since they'd come home from the hospital, Riley had been staying with his best friends, so they could help him adjust to his new life style.

Since then, all of the pop in the house had been replaced by diet, and much of the candy replaced by sugar free. The cupboards were full of juice boxes and sugar pills, which would bring his levels up if he went low, and the counters littered with yellow plastic bio-hazard containers, to recycle used needles.

Ben entered the room, and inhaled deeply.

"Huh. What are we having?" He asked, soundly slightly suspicious.

"Macaroni and Cheese." Abi answered.

"Again?" Ben asked.

Macaroni was Riley's favourite, and they'd been eating it every night since he got sick, as per his request.

Riley grinned at Ben, who he happened to know didn't like Macaroni all that much, as he dumped his supplies of the table.

"You know, I could get used to this. Being waited on, having food made for me. Watching TV all the time." Riley said, drawing the medicine into his needle.

"Enjoy it while you can." Ben replied, pouring himself a drink.

"I know. Don't worry, I'll be out of here soon." Riley said, reaching across himself to insert the needle into his left arm.

Ben nearly spat out his milk.

"That is NOT what I meant." He said firmly. "Riley, you can stay here as long as you want. What I_ meant,_ was enjoy being waited on. Once you get the hang of all this, we won't be your slaves any longer."

Riley grinned, a bit embaressed by his assumption. Ben was the best friend a guy could ask for. He didn't really expect him to just kick him out of their house after a couple days.

"Thanks, dude. No, but seriously. I'm having some one over for dinner tomorrow night." Riley told them. "So I'll be outta here by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"That's nice, Riley. Who's coming over?" Abi asked.

Riley grinned slyly. "Dr. Harley." He answered.

Ben and Abi laughed. They were both happy to hear that he wouldn't exactly be going home to no one. Not to mention the fact that if something were to go wrong, this particular person would know exactly how to handle it.

So, Riley spent one more night with the Gates'. And the next day, Ben helped him bring his medical supplies back over to his place, since, after all, Riley had left his car there the night he went to the hospital.

"Maybe give us a call tomorrow." Ben suggested as he helped Riley stock his fridge with juice boxes. "I want to hear how your date went."

Riley looked at him. "No, you want to make sure nothing bad happens to me over night."

Riley knew Ben wasn't all that interested in his love life. Particularly because, well, it wasn't all that interesting.

"Well. Forgive me for caring about my best friend's well being." Ben shot back, sarcastically.

Riley sighed. "You and Abi don't have to worry. I'm sure plently of people who have diabetes live on their own. I'm 26. I am pretty sure I can handle this myself."

"I know, buddy." Ben assured him. So, he changed the subject by asking Riley if he remembered the time that he was mad at Ian, so he unplugged the refridgerator in his appartment, and everything went bad overnight.

"Good memories." Riley laughed, evidently quite proud of his actions. "I wonder how Ian is doing, anyways."

Ben frowned. He didn't really like thinking about Ian, so it wasn't something he did all that often. Even though he knew Ian was safe behind bars now, it brought back painful memories of the betrayal, and the enormous amount of stress and frustration Ian had put upon him and his family.

"I'm sure he'll fit right in with those other convicts." Ben said, coldly. Riley raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't used to hearing Ben talk that way about anyone. What he didn't really understand was that anyone who put Ben's family and friends in danger, became Ben's mortal enemy.

Eventaully, Riley got Ben to leave, so he could get ready for his date. Dr Harley had called Riley up the first night he stayed at home, to talk about altering some of his medication, and they got talking. Riley ended up inviting her for dinner.

Turns out, she liked guys who can cook. The main problem being, of course, the fact that Riley couldn't actually cook for the life of him. Luckily, he was a millionaire.

He called the same resturaunt that he, Ben and Abi went to (you know, the one from Ch. 1 and 2?) and asked that they make some of their most expensive food and bring it over.

They told him they didn't do deliveries.

He told them he'd give the person who dropped off the food a hundred dollar tip. They decided to take him up on the offer after all.

The food arrived in an hour, and Riley put it in the oven to keep it warm. Dr. Harley was going to be arriving an hour after that, giving Riley enough to time to shower, tidy up his place (though it didn't need too much work, since Ben had helped him out earlier that day) and get dressed into something nice.

He also did his supper insulin so that he wouldn't have to do it while his date was there.

It had actually been quite a while since he'd had a date, so he stood infront of his mirror, trying on different outfits he could wear to impress her. He didn't care how lame it was. He really liked this girl.

"Perfect." Riley said, deciding on a black suit with a blue dress shirt and white tie. Just then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

Riley practically sprinted over, stopped to smooth down his hair, and then opened the door.

"Hello, Dr. Harley." Riley said, smiling.

"Hi, Riley. And you _can_ call me Jessica, you know."

It was that mo

ment that Riley realised his didn't even know his dates first name.

"So," she said, walking past him into his appartment. "This is your place."

Riley closed the door. "Yep. This is it." He answered, following his date as she wandered into the living room.

She sat on the couch. "So... how have your blood sugar levels been?" She asked.

Riley cringed a bit. That wasn't really what he had hoped they'd talk about on their first date.

"Um, they'd been fine. Great, actually. But you know, we don't have to talk about that." He sat down beside her.

"You know everything about me. Heck, you've read my medical file. I don't know a thing about you. Honestly, I didn't even know you're name until ... two seconds ago... when you told me at the door. Tell me about yourself." He suggested.

Dr Harley explained that she grew up in Canada, but went to medical school in the states, and never really got around to going back home.

Riley didn't mind the fact that she wasn't an American, the way he had when he first met Abigail. That's because he was pretty much in love with Dr. Harley, even on the first date.

After a while, Riley took the warmed up food from the oven. He didn't exactly know what it was, but Dr Harley certainly seemed to like it.

"This is amazing!" She exclaimed, after two bites. "You made this?"

"Uh, yep! All by hand... from scratch. Here in my kitchen." He lied.

She looked at him for a second, then tapped the side of her plate.

"So it's just the plates that are from that new french restaurant then?" She asked.

Riley looked at his plate sheepishly. He had been pretty nervous about this date, and had been forgetting things all night. Apparently, switching the food onto his own plates, ones that didn't have the restaurant logo on them, was one of things he forgot to do.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just wanted..." She stopped him.

"No worries. L'Allée Cachée is my favourite restaurant. And besides. I said I liked when guys can cook. It isn't a requirement or anything." She took another bite.

Riley was relieved to hear that. He was about to continue eating, when his date stopped him, and reminded him to do his insulin. It then came back to him that this woman he was having dinner with, was his doctor.

He quickly did his shot, and they got back to talking.

After they finished eating, they decided to go for a walk. Riley grabbed some sugar pills and stuffed them in his pocket, then put on his jacket.

They walked down the street, looking in store windows, and head up to the park after that. By the time they got there, Riley wasn't feeling very well.

"Are you alright?" His doctor asked, concern growing on her face.

"F-fine. But maybe we should go back to my apartment." Riley suggested. Luckily they hadn't ventured too far from Riley's building, and managed to make it back in very little time at all.

When they got inside, Dr Harley helped Riley to the couch. He was quickly deteriorating, and was barely able to walk. He sat on the couch, his head back.

Riley's vision began to get cloudly. _Oh no._ _Not again,_ he thought.

Suddenly, his eyes shut, and he began to convulse. He was having a seizure.

Dr Harley, who had seen this before, knew it was insulin shock. She was a bit taken back at first, but then found the phone and called 911.

She also spotted a vile of glucagon on the counter, which was to be used in emergencies such as this one. She mixed and administered the drug.

Within a few seconds, Riley stopped seizing and lay there, completely still. A minute later, his eyes opened slowely.

"Wh-what's going o-on?" He asked, weak from the intensity of what had just happened. Dr Harley sat next to him and held him close to her. She could hear the sirens of the ambulance down on the street below.

Riley closed his eyes again, and, exausted, fell into a deep sleep.

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A/N: So, yeah. This is chapter 5. Its pretty intense, and yes I do realise the chances of going into insulin shock only days after being diagnosed is pretty unlikely, but i needed something to keep this story interesting. So, please Review :) Plus, I know I didn't mention that there'd be some RileyOC going on. I didn't really realise myself till I was half way through writing it. LOL.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 -**

_The next morning -_

Riley opened his eyes to the farmiliar sight of the hospital room, and was angry immeadiatley. He couldn't believe it had happened again!

It was still really early, but Riley suspected Ben and Abi would be around shortly. They were always there for him when something was wrong.

He was right. Not even ten minutes after he woke up, Ben and Abi came sauntering into his room.

"Riley, you look_ much_ better this morning." Abi complimented, sitting in the chair next to him.

"You were here last night?" Riley asked.

Abi nodded.

"I guess you just don't remember. We both were here." Ben nodded too.

"Well, thanks for coming. I know this whole things been hard on you guys too."

"Don't worry about it Riley." Ben said. Riley smiled.

"Hey, have you guys heard from Dr Harley at all?" He asked.

Abi nodded. "Last night. She said to thank you for the wonderful dinner, and that she'd be around to talk to you about adjusting your levels, and maybe about having dinner again."

Riley grinned.

Sure enough, Dr. Harley came down to his room a while later. Ben and Abigail exscused themselves and went to get coffee, so they two of them could be alone.

"I had a really nice time last night." Dr Harley said. Riley laughed.

"What?" She asked.

"You had to rush your date to the hospital. That's not my definition of a good time." He told her, somewhat scornfully.

"So, you're saying you didn't have a good time?" She said.

Riley paused.

"Well, I did. But only up until the part where I passed out and had a seizure." He laughed a bit. "What happened to me anyways?"

"Well, apparently you must've taken twice as much insulin as you were supposed to. I guess that means we don't have to change your insulin intake at all."

Riley thought back. When could he have done his insulin twice? He went through the night carefully. From getting Ben to finally go home, to showering, cleaning the apartment, getting all dressed up... doing insulin. Then he had done it again at supper.

"_That's_ when it happened." He realised out loud. The doctor just smiled.

"So... I'm free tuesday night." She told him. Riley looked up at her.

"So am I." He said. "You wanna go to your place this time?"

She looked thoughtful for a second, then said, "How about L'Allée Cachée?"

Riley smiled.

"Perfect." He said. Dr Harley bent down to kiss him, and then left the room.

When Ben and Abi came back in, Riley had a smile on his face, and was in a bit of a trance.

"We won't ask." Abi said, taking Riley's coat off the chair. She tossed it to him. It hit his face and then fell to his lap. He looked at it, then at her.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"The doctors said you could go home whenever you felt ready." Riley got out of the bed.

"Sweet. Let's get out of here." Riley said, putting on his coat.

"You're still wearing your hosptial gown." Abi pointed out. Riley looked down.

"Ah." He said. Ben tossed him his clothes, which had been folded on the chair. Riley took them and got dressed in the bathroom.

They were all in Ben's car driving home less than fifteen minutes later.

"So, Ri. You really like this Doctor, huh?" Riley snapped out of his trance. He looked at Ben.

"Sorry. Dr Harley? Yeah, she's cool." He answered. More than cool, infact. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

When they got back to the mansion, Abi announced she was going to go make lunch. Riley and Ben retreated to the living room.

"I forgot how much I miss having a real TV." Riley said, flopping onto the couch and picking up the remote. "The ones at the hospital suck. They are tiny, and only have a few channels."

Ben watched him flip through the channels. They had all gone through hell in the past week. Ben couldn't stand the thought of something else happening to his best friend.

"Ri, could I talk to you about something." Riley looked away from the screen. When he saw Ben's serious expression, he turned the TV off and faced him.

"Sure." He said.

Ben took a deep breath. He and Abi had talked about this a lot, and she was fine with it. Ben hoped that Riley would be too.

"We want you to move in with us." Ben said.

Riley looked at him in shock for a second.

"Into your _house_? Permanently?" He asked in disbelief. Ben nodded.

"We have more than enough room. And you're over here three or four nights a week, and visit pretty everyday anyway. I just think after what's happened these past few days... it might be better for everyone."

Riley's mouth hung open slightly. He was speechless.

"This is your _home_, Ben. I couldn't just move in. You and Abi are _married_."

"I know."

"I can't just intrude like that. It isn't fair to you guys." Riley told him.

"It wouldn't be intruding, Ri. We both love having you around. You're like family. You know that, don't you?" Ben asked.

Riley considered them family too. He had hoped they felt the same way about him. This proved that he was right.

"I know. But to move in? That's a big deal..."

"Please, Riley. It would mean a lot to us." Ben half pleaded.

Riley smiled.

"I... I guess that would be pretty cool." He said.

Ben grinned back.

"Great. And you could always keep your apartment, and you could use it, you know, if you had a girlfriend over or something. If you needed some privacy..." Riley blushed.

Ben laughed. He just loved making Riley feel all awkward and embarassed.

"I'll go tell Abi the good news." He said, and with that, he headed to the kitchen.

Riley sat alone in the living room. He really hadn't expected Ben to invite him to live with them. In fact, half the time he kind of thought they wanted him to stay at his apartment more often.

But it was true that if Dr Harley hadn't been with him the night before, he may have died. And he didn't much like the idea of dying.

He smiled to himself, and turned the tv back on. Ben had a nicer tv than he did, too. And he would certainly enjoy using that more often.

Abi had been thrilled to hear that Riley accepted the invitation. She wouldn't stop hugging him. Both she and Abi wanted him to go to his apartment and get all of his stuff that day.

But truthfully, he was still tired from the whole ordeal at the hospital, and agreed to go pick up his stuff the next day.

So, the next day, Ben rented a U-haul truck, which they packed up with Riley's stuff. Most of them were boxes of comics, action figures, money and clothes.

He hadn't really organised them, like Ben suggested he do. He kind of just picked everything up off the floor and put it in the nearest box.

He left pretty much all of his furniture and some dishes and cutlery and other things at his apartment so that if he did need to stay there for whatever reason, he would be able to.

He took all of the food with him, though. Even though most of his food had so many preservatives that it wouldn't go bad in a million years, he didn't want to take any chances.

If there was one thing he hated, it was the thought of wasting food.

Riley loaded the last of his boxes into the back of the truck. Ben clapped him on the shoulder.

"It'll be great to have you around more often." Ben told him. Riley smiled.

Ben had driven over earlier, so he took his car, and Riley took his own, and the U-Haul truck driver followed them back to Ben's estate.

As he drove, thought about what his new life was going to be like. Sure he would have to give himself needles all the time, and couldn't drink regular pop or as much candy as he used to, but those things seemed a little less terrible now.

He had an amazing girl friend, and he was going to get to live with his two best friends in the entire world.

It was amazing how much good to come out of something so terrible.

**La Fin.**

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A/N: So, that's it! I didn't really know how to end it, so I apologise if it seems somewhat cliché. But thanks for reading! I might make a sequel, but not sure yet! Please Review on the story! Thanks :)


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